But if you prove you're right...you've arrived at the correct answer

by Anonymous 11 years ago

No, the point of a debate //is// to prove you're right, not to compromise and arrive at the correct answer

by Anonymous 11 years ago

you're thinking of an argument, my friend

by Anonymous 11 years ago

the way I see it, the point of a debate is to convince both the opposite party and/or audience that your point of view has the most merit. Debate topics are ones without a concrete right answer, that's why there's a debate. There's no debate when the question has a right/wrong answer.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

there's no POINT to a debate when there's no right or wrong answer. there is a point when you don't know the right or wrong answer, or if it's highly opinionated. It's a debate when two people have different ideas and are willing to compromise and agree with ideas brought up by the other side if they encounter an idea or statement they agree with, not just make themselves seem like they were 100% correct the entire time. It's about getting to a better answer BY advocating your argument, not to simply advocate your argument

by Anonymous 11 years ago

No, it really isn't. Look at the things we debate about, there's never a concrete answer yes or no. The POINT of a debate, as you put it, is to convincce more people that your view has more merit than an alternative one. Think about it, if there's definitely a right or a wrong answer, then what do we debate about? When you take a look at common points of debate, for instance: God's existence, abortion, gay marriage, international politices...they're all pretty "circular" in nature, in that both sides have compelling arguments. A debate is about presenting them in a convincing manner. The result of a debate match also has no bearing on whether or not something is absolutely right or wrong, just how many people agree which side has the most merit. It's a bit strange to me that you think there'd ever be a definite answer to a DEBATE. What is there to debate about if there's an answer we could just check up on somewhere?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

i never said that debates have a definite answer that one can look up... i wasn't saying that at all. What i said is that a view can have multiple arguments behind it, and that we should advocate ours as best we can in order to arrive at a better answer, which would be in between both arguments most often. there can be multiple right answers, but some can be better than others, and some are worse. I never said there was one right answer. my main point is that it's about finding a better answer, not proving you are correct. proving yourself correct is what you do in order to arrive at a better answer. nobody has perfect answers

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Let me refresh you as to what you've said so far: The post says the point of a debate is to arrive at THE right answer. You went on to say that there's no point to a debate without A right or wrong answer. Now you are saying that there ISN'T one right answer but several...You're a bit all over the place there. Why don't you go to somewhere like dictionary.com and look up "debate" - you'll see nothing there about getting "the right" answer. No one is absolutely right or wrong in a debate. It's merely about putting forward opposing viewpoints and deciding which one is more worthy of merit. Your post is a bit strange, because if your viewpoint turns out to be "the right answer" as you put it, then surely the debate is about "proving you are right" - the problem with your whole post is that you are proposing there even IS a right answer in a debate.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

oh, right, i was looking at the comment you replied to. i believe that some answers are better than others, and that we debate to pursue a better one, or to defend one (also, i believe someone can be absolutely wrong, in theory). You should have points to make, but if they are overturned, or the basis for them is proven wrong, then that point should be abandoned. returning to the subject, a debate is simply any subject with opposing sides of a view. It is not necessarily a matter where there is no correct answer like religion. for example, "what is the best way to do _____" could be the subject of a debate. There IS a best thing to do, is there not?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Nope, not objectively speaking. No matter what you do, there is always going to be a downside, there will always be opposition - that's because there are no moral absolutes (which interestingly is an absolute, hahaha). Anyway, I digress. Getting back to the point here, no position in a debate is objectively better than another one, it just depends how you argue. That's the point of debate. To put across an argument in such a convincing way, as to make others see why your view is more worthy of merit. It's quite simple really I don't see why you keep trying to attach "answers" to the idea of debate. Debate is the exchange of view and opinion - answers are about objective facts.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Then if any debate can be argued as better or worse then another, then no argument (including your own) is better than another, and therefore it is a contest of who can argue better, which is meaningless to the topic of the debate. I think that there are no perfect answers, but there are answers that are better than others, which means there has to be one (or more) on top, somewhere, whether it can be arrived at by a debate or not

by Anonymous 11 years ago

debates do NOT give us answers, who woud even think that? they merely decide which view is preferable - that's not an "answer", and if you think it's definitely "right" then you're more deluded and naive than i first thought

by Anonymous 11 years ago

And to answer this point, in fact "argument" is part of the debate. A debate is merely an organized set of arguments. The debate itself is to show how your point of view has the most merit, and what follows is an expression of favour towards one or the other. There is no actual "answer" - merely a view expressed.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Yeah, there i hadn't been very formal and adhered to the connotation of arguing, rather than the denotation

by Anonymous 11 years ago

debates don't always have a definite right answer, just different theories/ideologies which can be argued for and against

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Exactly what I just posted above - sorry I didn't see yours first! As you point out - if there's a right or wrong answer, then there is NO debate

by Anonymous 11 years ago

THe point of a debate is to arrive at the right answer, but the point to take part in the debate is to prove that your answer is the right answer. It's a matter of perspective, but the post is right either way.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Problem is, each side thinks they are correct.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Exactly! Which is why we have the debate in the first place. A question with a right/wrong answer, like "What's the capital of Washintgton State" - has no debate. You could argue which you thought it was before finally someone got on their phone looked it up and found it was Olympia. That's not a debate. But if the question were, "What should the new state capital of Washington be" (perhaps Olympia is destroyed by a meteor or something), then a debate ensues, where two sides attempt to demonstrate the most MERIT, not who is absolutely right or wrong. Both sides would have holes.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

If something is debatable to begin with, who's to say there is a correct answer?

by Anonymous 11 years ago